Fridge noise

[TheFrenchConnection]

Our Thetford N3000 three-way fridge has become noisy when on gas - a fluttering sound audible outside through the lower vent.

 

I am wondering if the jet might be partially blocked and If so how easy it is to clear. I have found the instructions but as usual they recommend a trained technician with degrees in brain surgery and nuclear engineering. Can it be that difficult?

 

The fridge is still capable of freezing and can reach - 13C according to my old max/min thermometre on both EHU and gas.

 

If anyone has tackled the jet I would be very grateful for their advice.

[Derek Uzzell]

I’ve yet to closely inspect the rear of the my Rapido’s Thetford N3000 fridge/freezer, but I THINK that (unlike used to be the case historically with Dometic fridges) the gas-jet is not a part that can be replaced on its own, as the jet is an integrated part of the burner assembly (example of a burner assembly in attached picture).

 

I can’t advise on how easy it would be to replace the burner assembly. If you remove the shield that protects the burner you should get a fair idea of the potential difficulty.

[TheFrenchConnection]

Thanks for that info, ours is 2015 so I'll take a look.

 

À couple of secondary questions.

 

Do you think I'm on the right track, given the noise and if it's working should I just leave alone?

 

Final question! Do the vents just pop off or is there a fastening from behind?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

The Thetford ventilation grilles fitted to my 2015 Rapido motorhome are secured in place by two sliding ‘clips’ located towards the top of the grille. The position of the two clips should be plain from the 1st attached image below (the two dark rectangles) and the 2nd image shows a clip separately (should it ever be necessary to replace one).

 

Just for the record, with this type of Thetford ventilation grille a ‘winter cover’ comprises just a piece of flat plastic fitted behind the grille as shown in the 3rd image.

 

A true story...

 

Many years ago I had been on a camping holiday with a girlfriend and, driving back on a motorway, this peculiar ticking noise became apparent. The noise was speed dependent - the higher the speed the faster the ticking - and eventually I decided that I HAD to stop and investigate what was going on. The cause was simple - a ‘winged’ sycamore seed had become stuck between the door and the car’s bodywork and was fluttering as air passed by it.

 

As the noise you mention can be heard when your motorhome is static, it’s not being caused by a sycamore seed ;-) and it’s plainly gas-related. But I’ve no idea if your partially-blocked-jet hypothesis is valid.

 

If you are certain the noise is coming from the lower part of the fridge where the burner is, the first thing to do is to remove the lower ventilation grille (I had assumed you had already done this) so that you can see if there are any obvious visual clues to what’s causing the noise. If you can identify that the noise is coming from the burner area, then remove the burner’s shield and see if that advances the investigation.

 

At that point you are on your own, because my Thetford fridge doesn’t ‘flutter’ audibly when running on gas, so I don’t know what might cause this. It may be something basic - like a piece of debris having fallen down from the chimney and now moving about on the burner - but you won’t know that until you look.

 

As your fridge is operating well, the noise is probably not indicative of a serious problem but, personally, I’d want to check what’s happening before concluding that there’s no need to do anything further.

[TheFrenchConnection]

Thank you Derek, that is really helpful and I'm most grateful.

 

I'll take a look at it when the temperature drops a little - it's been 39/40 degrees here and staying in the shade has been the top priority!